ANTHEM - Perspectives on Home and Native Land

Opening Reception and Official Catalogue Launch: February 16, 7 – 9 p.m. Panel Discussion: February 16, 2 – 4 p.m. Screening: 24 Days in Brooks, by Dana Inkster: February 19, 7 p.m.

When rising proudly to sing the national anthem, Canadians patriotically acknowledge the country they call their own. The distinctive red and white flag is waved enthusiastically to honour their freedom as well as their allegiance to stand united, “…on guard for thee.” While the phrase “our home and native land” from the national anthem continues to be sung in harmony, the reality of a unified nation is far from certain outside the hockey arena. As Tuscarora artist and scholar Jolene Rickard attests, “Every country has a national narrative, and Canada is better than most at attempting to integrate multiple stories into the larger framework, but the process is still a colonial project.”

The national anthem is the ostensible symbol of the civil liberties that gives citizens a sense of “Canadian” identity, and a kind of safety, although the fluctuating application of these liberties to Euro-Canadians, Aboriginals and multi-cultural immigrants remains an uneasy issue. However, “nationhood” as constructed by a national anthem is too homogeneous.

ANTHEM: Perspectives on Home and Native Land serves as a catalyst for eight artists from across Canada to identify varying forms of nationhood that either serve or detract from the concept of a national accord. Each artist explores the idea of “anthem” through a wide-angle lens, broadening the national discourse to include not only colonial histories, but also distinctive and multicultural liberties that take various forms: treaties, blood, languages, sexual orientation, faith, and oral traditions. The dynamic range of art works exhibited contribute to a more inclusive national narrative and expose and accept the diverse forms of nationalism that exist across the country.

Ryan Rice

Artists: KC Adams FASTWÜRMS Cynthia Girard Dana Inkster Alisdair MacRae Shirley Moorhouse Eric Robertson Miles Turner

ANTHEM
Perspectives on Home and Native Land
Kurator: Ryan Rice

mit KC Adams, FASTWÜRMS , Cynthia Girard, Dana Inkster, Alisdair MacRae, Shirley Moorhouse, Eric Robertson, Miles Turner